Giants Talk: Precision and Power

Surgical offense and stifling defense point the way for the Road Warriors in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS – It was difficult to believe that with 10:58 left in the fourth quarter, the St. Louis Rams had actually made this game relatively competitive.

Quarterback Marc Bulger had just thrown a 45-yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt that appeared initially to be intercepted in the end zone by Giants rookie safety Kenny Phillips. The score was 20-13 and the Edward Jones Dome, where good seats were available from where I was sitting, finally had hope.

The game that was being played on the field was a much different from what the scoreboard had read. The Giants, who been dominating again for the second straight week, found themselves somehow faced the specter of defeat with one mistake.

In previous years, this could have been a sense of worry, but these are not “those” Giants (2-0). Methodically, they broke down the Rams and later in the fourth quarter, they took their heart out and forced them to quit en route to an eventual 41-13 thrashing.

After punting on their first possession, Eli Manning and his offense started at their own 36. Seven plays later, Manning found Plaxico Burress (5 catches – 81 yards) who embarrassed safety O. J Atogwe for a 33 yard touchdown reception.

The Rams only points in the first half game on two field goals of 53 yards by kicker Josh Brown. Had the game not been played indoors, those kicks likely would have missed.

Once against, the defense was tremendous in the first half, limiting the Rams to 58 total yards and five first downs. Many of Bulger’s passes were short out patterns and slants designed to negate the Giants pass rush that would eventually sack him six times,

Despite the 195-58 yardage disadvantage, the Rams amazingly found themselves trailing only 13-6.

After the Rams went three-and-out to start the third quarter, punter Donnie Jones backed the Giants up to their own three-yard line. The crowd had come to life hoping to spark their defense.

Not on this day.

Keyed by the running of Brandon Jacobs (15 carries – 93 yards) and Derrick Ward (8 carries – 58 yards) along with accurate throws of Manning, the Giants marched down the field. The referees nearly ended the drive when initially they ruled that Burress had fumbled the ball at the Rams 10 after a completion of 16 yards. However, Coach Coughlin challenged the obvious non-fumble and was able to get the play reversed.

On the tenth play of the drive on first-and-goal, Manning found Toomer (6 catches – 67 yards) in the middle of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 20-6.

The “Goal Line Play Action” has been a staple in the offense for several seasons and teams have yet to figure a way to stop it.

In the fourth quarter, the Giants defense gave up their first touchdown of the year.

Bulger’s deep pass into the end zone was ruled a catch by wide receiver Torry Holt. Rookie safety Kenny Phillips, who was into the game for the injured Michael Johnson, was tested by the Rams and appeared to deflect it.

Unfortunately, the ball was able to cradle into Holt’s possession while he was lying on his back and the Rams were now only trailing 20-13.

A game that should have not been as close was now a ball game. 10:58 was left and the ball rested on the Giants 21 yard with the game now in the balance.

It was in this moment when the Giants showed maturity and executed like assassins.

Seven plays were all it took. Domenik Hixon, who starred in the preseason when the other receivers were injured, hauled in a 32-yard reception down to the Rams 18.

On the next play, Manning found Ahmad Bradshaw, who went untouched for an 18-yard catch and run for a touchdown to extend the Giants lead to 27-13. For the day, Manning was 20 for 29 for 260 yards and three touchdowns.

The knockout blow came from the defense. On a second down play, Bulger’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Justin Tuck, who would race 41 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown to put the game out of reach. Tuck is likely to win the NFL’s defensive player of the week with his two sacks, interception and touchdown performance.

As the Rams fans headed to the exit, the Giants were not finished yet. A 50-yard punt return by Hixon was followed up three plays later by Bradshaw’s 31-yard touchdown run. It was his second of the day.

The final statistics backed up the dominance on the field. St. Louis was out gained 441 to 201, and the Giants ran for an even 200 yards.

As the final minutes counted down, only Giants fans remained in the building to cheer on the defending champions who have won twelve consecutive games away from the Meadowlands. Even backup quarterback David Carr made an appearance with less than two minutes left.

They are now 2-0 and headed back to Jersey to get ready for Sunday’s game with the dreadful 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals at Giants Stadium.

MLB Talk: Delgado’s mysterious surge and the toughness of the Rays

Delgado rises from the dead


It was in late April in a game against the Chicago Cubs when I attended at Wrigley Field. The bases were loaded for Carlos Delgado with the New York Mets trailing 3-1.

Delgado, who had been struggling all season, was overmatched and popped up to end the potential threat.

His bat was looking as slow as a 90 year old man jogging outside and had no ability to handle a pitch on the inside half of the plate.

In the bottom half of the inning, Delgado’s legs looked like they were stuck in sand as he was unable to handle a routine groundball, eventually leading to the Cubs pulling away to victory.

For nearly three months of the season, this continued to play out and the fans and media alike wonder if this player had reached the end of his career. Old age had looked to catch up with him.

His struggles coincided with that of Jose Reyes and the entire team as a whole as they found themselves falling behind the Philadelphia Phillies by seven and a half games. Manager Willie Randolph found that his job security was tied into the performance of not only Reyes, but also Delgado, the teams’ middle of the lineup slugger. The team struggled to score runs and he was a major reason why.

In the middle of June, the Mets organization decided that Randolph would take the fall for the teams’ season to date. He was replaced by Jerry Manuel, who used to manage the Chicago White Sox.

On June 27, it all began to turn around for him. In the first game of a two-stadium Subway Series doubleheader, Delgado hit two home runs and drove in nine runs in the Mets 15-6 victory against the Yankees. From that day forward, the fortunes of both Delgado’s season and that of the Mets turned around.

Since that Friday afternoon, Delgado has gone a hitting tear that is beyond ridiculous. His bat has produced so much that it has catapulted the Mets into first place with an eye on the playoffs and has earned serious consideration for National League Most Valuable Player.

How did this happen?

No one really has the answer. It is very difficult to explain how this player, who looked completely awful on both offense and defense for three months has done a complete 180 and looks like the slugger who was on pace for a Hall of Fame career when he was in his prime.

Delgado has hit 24 homers and driven in 69 runs in 70 games (through September 10) since that performance against the Yankees. His bombs have not been for the purpose of tacking on runs (see: Rodriguez, Alex), rather they have happened at key moments that have propelled the Mets to big wins over the summer.

However, it is difficult to watch this performance without wonder about those first three months. It is a very tough charge to prove, but it is my belief that he (and Reyes) in essence each “tanked’ the first three months of the season while Randolph was still the manager.

Now, you may ask how tanking is possible. Even I had to debate for a long time whether this was possible. In baseball, it is very difficult to assess whether or not a player is giving his all. When the pitcher is throwing 95 MPH and needing to react as quickly as one has to in order to make contact at the plate, it likely is best to be concentrating one hundred percent of the time.

But one way to spot effort is on defense. Early on, Delgado looked to be already preparing for his future as a designated hitter in the American League. Suddenly, Randolph is fired, Manuel is hired, and his defense has suddenly looked like that of Will Clark in his prime.

You don’t think that is a coincidence?

He was not diving for balls and making great scoops when Randolph was the manager. Go back, look at the video tape of those games, and contrast that to what he doing out there right now.

It is like watching two completely different players.

At the plate, Delgado has attributed his early season struggles to that of his hand placement when he was at the plate. By placing his hands on the bat in a certain position, he claims to have lost a lot of his leverage on being able to hit a pitch on the inside part of the plate.

Magically, once Randolph was fired, he figured out what his problem was. I am sure that his former manager would have liked if Delgado had figured that problem out before he was given the pink slip.

When things were going bad, he tied the manager’s hands. He could not use him in a platoon situation or even go as far as to outright benching him for fear that he (teammates describe him as the “leader”) would stage a rebellion, cause further team mutiny and threaten to swallow what little life the team had up to that point.

For every out, he would receive intense booing. Internet blogs, sports talk radio, and shows and suits on the Mets owned SportsNet New York wondered aloud what was going on with this player.

Three months later, he is receiving the loudest of cheers. He inspires confidence instead of doubt. Now the media has taken official notice, beginning their campaign for Delgado’s MVP candidacy.

While somewhat musing, I find it difficult to run out with buttons and posters saying “DELGADO FOR MVP!” Not after his actions of the first three months of the season. It appears very much (though difficult to prove) that he “tanked” the first near half of the season by not fully committing himself to his craft, thus putting his team in peril and his manager on the chopping block.

Now, those same fans who hated him cheer him wildly as if nothing had ever happened. Obviously, they do not care because at the end of the day, it is all about wins and losses. But it would be very reasonable to suggest that had Delgado hit even half of what his doing right now, not only would the Mets not have had to come back from their early season hole to the Phillies, but they would be further ahead in first place than the few games they find themselves up right now.

Is he taking steroids? We cannot be one hundred percent certain that he is not. All baseball players have opened themselves up for this scrutiny based on their actions the last 15 years. This is made even more so when a players numbers skyrocket so exponentially over their career norms that it is difficult not to notice the seismic shift.

As the Mets close in on making up for last year’s collapse with an NL East title this year, they have Delgado to thank for getting them there.

Mysterious as it seems.


Ray Tough

It could have been very easy for the Tampa Bay Rays to continue their free falling and allow the defending champion Red Sox to overtake them in the American League East.
They had lost the first game of their three game series at Fenway Park and were only leading the division by one-half game.

In the second game on Wednesday night, their setup reliever Dan Wheeler gave up a two-run homer to Jason Bay to turn a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 deficit with close Jonathan Papelbon coming into the game in the ninth inning to clinch first place for Boston.

But then a funny thing happened.

Tampa scored two runs off Papelbon to win the game and preserve their lead.

On Thursday, they went to 14 innings before once again outlasting their chases 4-2 to leave Fenway with a 2 ½ game lead in the standings (three in the loss column) with under three weeks to play.

Not bad for a team that was 0-7 before the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game and staring 0-8 right in the face.

A team that has overlooked all season and dismissed as too young and dumb to pull this off are looking like they just might.

Winning that series sent a message to the rest of the American League that yes, if you did not believe before, you better believe now.

The Rays are for real, and the possibility of them going to the World Series is very possible. On paper, their offense does not look like that of the fat-cat, low performance New York Yankees, but when it comes to shutting down an opposing teams lineup, Tampa can do it about as good as anyone in baseball.

Scott Kazmir and Andy Sonnanstine pitched tremendous games in a place where they have historically struggled. Their bullpen, entrusted with keeping leads or the score tied, have done their job admirably after being the worst bullpen in baseball history statistical wise the previous season.

Looking ahead, the Rays can look to set up their playoff rotation, look for Kazmir and James Shields in Game 1 and 2 followed by Matt Garza and Sonnanstine in Games 3 and 4. That quartet will be able to compete with any of the three other playoff participants. With their likely opponent to be either the Chicago White Sox or Minnesota, they will be favored to win their first playoff series in team history.

They have been baseball most inspirational story. As October looms, their story will only get more prominence.

Random Baseball Thoughts

When the Los Angeles Angels won the AL West last Tuesday, they were a comfortable 16 games in front of the second place Texas Rangers.

How is that for coasting?

For the Angels though, their moment of truth is going to come when the Boston Red Sox show up there in the playoffs.

Speaking of the Red Sox, when you can throw out Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Dice-K Matsuzaka in the first three games of a playoff series, you have a chance to repeat as World Champions.

The Arizona Diamondbacks may have a young team, but they have too good of players to be under .500 in the NL West.

I think the Washington Nationals are setting themselves up pretty well to be the National League’s version of the Kansas City Royals.

Cliff Lee is 22-2! That is Ron Guidry-esque.

Not since Pedro Martinez in 1999 has there been a pitching performance like Lee’s.

For as great as Josh Hamilton was in the first half of the season, his OPS is only .910.

Perhaps hitting all of those blasts at Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium had a negative effect on him.

The New York Mets have lost 11 games when leading after eight innings and have blown 27 save opportunities this season.

How the hell are they still in first place?

That’s because the Philadelphia Phillies have yet to be good enough to take full advantage.

But there are two weeks left and a one game playoff at Citizens Bank Park is likely.

One more thing on the Mets:

No team with Luis Ayala as its closer is going to go anywhere in the postseason.

Say what you will about Billy Wagner (and his performance this year was not good, and partially the reason Willie Randolph was fired), but at least there is some small sense of confidence when he comes into the game.

And for those that claim that “Well, Wagner has not done well in big spots either so he would have not have done better”, what you are saying in essence is they are both on equal par as closers in baseball.
This notion is ridiculous.

You cannot convince me that you have the same confidence in Wagner as you would in Ayala when it comes to the final three outs.

STATS INC tracks the closer stat as the following when entering the ninth inning:

1 run lead = 85% chance of victory
2 run lead = 95% chance of victory
3 run lead = 99% chance of victory

Point being, you can have almost anyone closing a game with a two or three run lead assuming the pitcher is competent.

However, for the Mets, this is been a very difficult task. The 1% and 5% in terms of holding leads seem to plague them only.

Back in July, I mentioned that there would be a team would make numerous moves in an attempt to reach the playoffs only for them to fall flat on their face.

Well, we found that team.

Who was it? The New York Yankees.

I am very excited for the National League playoffs this year.

Having the Cubs, Dodgers and possibly the Mets and Phillies makes for a great combination of matchups.

Sorry small/middle market teams, but you do not matter as matter much when your teams in it. No one is breaking the doors down to see San Diego, Colorado or Milwaukee.

Maybe it is just my big market sports mentality.

Giants Talk: The Passion Is Still There

Going into Thursday night, I was very curious how I feel watching the Giants coming off their Super Bowl triumph.

Would I still have the same intensity and fervor like I used to, or would I fall into the status of not caring as much since they have become champions?

As I found out, I have made some alterations, but I am still the same.

When Eli Manning was leading the Giants on their first possession down the field for the opening touchdown, I never worried that he was going to make a bad play. In a previous light, there was a underlying fear that he would make a bad decision that would hurt the team.

Now, with the team in his control, he is a confident leader. As he began shredding the Redskins defense, I watched with a smile. He has come so far in such a short period that my fear is no longer there.

When he made a bad throw, I did not get upset. I trusted his judgment to assume that he must have seen something there even though it did not work.

The offense as a whole had a sense of purpose and direction. During games, I would wonder what the hell they were trying to do. Now, there is a plan. It may not always be executed properly, but it is not a situation where I question every single play.

Of course, there are still the “WTF?” plays that are the staple of every Giants game. It is a reminder that though things have changed now that they are champions, some things remain the same.

I can see the defense and place my full trust in them. No longer do I look at them as screw-ups and wonder if they will blow the game. When the offense struggled to move the ball in the second half, there were no doubts in my mind they would not lose. Never have I felt that way.

It is a great feeling.

Looking ahead to this Sunday’s game against the Rams, those old worries have filled my head again. The point spread is playing a role with them being nine point favorites, but this is a situation where in the past, the Giants would stub their toes. They would either keep the opponent in the game too long or even lose the game outright.

After all that has transpired, going to St. Louis to play a terrible football team should not concern me.
Like I said before, old habits die hard.

See you Sunday.

Random Giants Thoughts

Aaron Ross made one of the best plays a cornerback can make when he was initially beat by Santana Moss, and was able to recover to close in and nearly intercepted the pass in the end zone.

Ross will be one of the league’s best corners by the end of the season.

It is amazing what how having other very good secondary players can make even James Butler look good.

Bryan Kehl got significant playing time at linebacker and was very impressive.

Gerris Wilkinson better step up his game otherwise Kehl will be starting full time by Week 6.

Justin Tuck was a beast. At this rate, he could become arguably the best defensive lineman in football by the years end.

Great pancake blocking by the entire offensive line. Redskin players were being blown off the line and never had a chance the entire night.

Was Ahmad Bradshaw more hurt that the Giants were leading on? Why did he not get a carry in the game.

Welcome back Derrick Ward.

John Carney, at the tender age of 342 years…err…44 years old, performed pretty well.

He can handle the kicking duties until Lawrence Tynes comes back.

There was a Sinorice Moss sighting on the field. He’s ALIVE!!!

It would not surprise me to see Steve Smith catch 70 passes this year.

Brandon Jacobs trucking of Lavon Landry has to rank among the best plays I have ever seen. Think of the Madden video game with the “Truck Stick” and then watch that play. An absolute classic.

Yankee Talk: Wait until Next Year

Carl has never had to make this proclamation in a long time as a Yankee fan. But with the team nearing extinction from the playoffs, it is time to finally say what I have been feeling for a very long time.

It is over.

The New York Yankees 2008 season is over.

There will not be any playoffs this season and the month of October will be spent by me finding other forms of entertainment.

Because of this, my interest in football has moved up from the middle of October (in normal years) to this past Thursday night when the Giants kicked off their season beating the Redskins.

Can I really say I am surprised by all of this?

No.

At the beginning of the season, I actually predicted that the Yankees would not make the postseason. This was not some guess that I just threw out trying to be bold like the silly fiction writers on premier sports websites who call themselves “experts” and simply say that yearly as a means of trying to be “different”.

When Opening Day came on March 31, my feelings about this team were not very great. Sure, the lineup that they were fielding was going to score, but my chart for success was muddied by the fact that there did not appear to be enough quality thrown by the starting pitchers to sustain through the six months of the year.

It turns out, some of that was true.

Perhaps that is why I did not take the losses during the early part of the season very tough. I am usually very critical of the team when it loses, but something was different. My ability to care had waned.

The offense was performing so putrid offensively due to underperformance and the early season injuries to Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez that they were on some nights fielding a team that resembled a slightly above average National League team than one resembling the New York Yankees.

Add to that the early ineffectiveness of rookies Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy (winners of zero games in April and the entire season) to where if the team was losing by more than two runs after the fifth inning, it was best to find alternative programming.

Sure, the 2007 season started the same way, but we all hoped it would turn around, because well, it always has.

When they came back from three runs down on that Sunday in May to beat Seattle, we thought that could be a turning point that would springboard the season.

It did not.

When they rallied from two runs down in the ninth inning with two out against Toronto Blue Jays closer B.J Ryan, which was supposed to be the moment.

It was not.

Winning their first eight games after the All Star break, it was as impressive as they had looked all year and it appeared as the stench of the early season was past them, ready to blow past the Red Sox and reestablish themselves as American League contenders.

It did not happen.

There were teases, but nothing sustainable.

There were moments, but they came and went with next losing stretch of three out of four games.

At a certain point, you could not help but wonder if this was finally going to be the year where things would not bounce our way.

You could help to feel that way when you see Jorge Posada injured and on the disabled list for the first time in his career.

Seeing Johnny Damon crash into the wall at Yankee Stadium in a game against the Red Sox, and finding his way to the disabled list.

Watching Chien-Ming Wang, on pace to having his finest season, running around third base on a run scoring play and damaging his foot to the where he was knocked out for the season.

There were other little ones along the way, but it was becoming apparent the Yankees were making their own episode of “ER”.

All season we waited for the offense to breakout and become the 950-run juggernaut that they have always been.

In April and May, they did not hit and it was excused as them “adjusting to the weather” and a simple slow start.

“Wait until it warms up!”

That is what the optimists’ slogan when June came around. Still, at the end of that month, the offense had yet to hit.

“Wait until after the All Star break! We’re a second half team!”

For the first eight games after the Break, things were working out. An eight game winning streak took place. Joba Chamberlain dazzled and dominated the Red Sox and beat Josh Beckett 1-0 in Fenway on that Friday night.

They dominated the following afternoon 10-3 and all appeared well with the Yankees.

It would be as well as things would ever get this season.

August came and again the offense continued to struggle. Hitting with runners on base and in scoring position seemed like impossible tasks.

When they could not do that, they would strike out, weakly fly out or hit into double plays consistently to kill rallies and lose games.

The writing was on the wall. If anyone thought this was going to change now after 100 plus games, they were simply ignorant.

All it took was the Red Sox to deliver the final nails in the Yankees season coffin. Winning the first two games in Yankee Stadium in the fashion Boston did began to signal the end.

This group, compiled mainly of mercenaries could not muster up the fortitude to dig down deep at any point during the season to grind out games. It was as if they had a glass chin. Once they were hit, they went down for the count. Any remnants of toughness that the old Yankees had could not be found with this group.

They were as soft of toilet paper.

Other fans wanted to stay in denial and that this whole season was simply bad luck. If you want to use that excuse, go right ahead.

The reality of the situation is that this had been a few years in the making.

In 2005, the team started the same for three months before turning it around. In 2007, a similar script played out. While those seasons ended in playoff appearances, what it underscored was an old team was being held together by bubble gum rather anything strong.

The foundation of the team was eroding. As it has played out, this year is where it all broke down.

Since the night I was sitting in Section 135 row 29 in Pro Player Stadium in Miami during Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, I never would have projected that five years later I would be seeing what parades around as a baseball team these days.

Jeff Weaver was on the mound in that 12th inning and gave up that game winning home run to Alex Gonzalez that evened the series at two games apiece. The Yankees have not been a close to a World Series since that night. They had rallied from a two-run deficit in the ninth inning to tie the game and it appeared they would take a 3-1 series lead. The Yankees lost that night and never won another game in that series.

Since then, the Yankees have gone backwards every year from that night:

2004 – Blew 3-0 series lead in the ALCS to the Red Sox
2005 – Lost 3-2 in ALDS to the Angels
2006 – Lost 3-1 in ALDS to the Tigers
2007 – Lost 3-1 in ALDS to the Indians

They have fielded a weaker team in every year since the 2003 season.

In some ways, it was almost inevitable that this would happen. Somehow, someway, forces would align themselves in a year to bring you what has taken place on a nightly basis this season.

Not enough good starting pitching.

Not enough consistent offense.

Mix in not having enough quality, interchangeable players and you are left with the following result…

A lost season.

They are playing out the stretch now. Of course, they cannot admit as such because they are still mathematically in the race. But you now take the results with a grain of salt.

Likely, you will see hitters number improve (see: Rodriguez, Alex) because the “pressure” is no longer there anymore. It will be as if the burden of having the win will have been lifted and certain players will feel liberated. Thus, they are now content with “putting up their numbers”.

But no one should be fooled.

The start of the 2009 season cannot come soon enough.

This 2008 season is over.

Giants Talk: The defense stands tall in Opening Night triumph

A lot of talk coming into the season was whether the New York Giants could replicate the same defensive performance that they had last season, which became dominant in the postseason.

With Michael Strahan in retirement and Osi Umenyiora out for the season with injury, one would reasonably expect a drop off in performance.

Last night was not one of those nights.

In a spectacular defensive performance, the Giants corralled and controlled the Washington Redskins from start to finish in a workmanlike 16-7 victory.

Feeding off an incredibly intense home crowd at Giants Stadium, the team appeared poised to blow the Redskins out in the first 20 minutes of the game. At no point were they ever seriously threatened.

Defensive coordinator/genius Steve Spagnuolo devised a scheme that once again maximized the abilities of each player and it was executed nearly to perfection.

Offensively, the Giants quickly jumped on a Washington defense that was missing cornerback Shawn Springs and saw Jason Taylor playing at far less than one-hundred percent.

Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress (who earlier in the day signed a new five-year contract) connected on several plays on the first Giants scoring possession.

After a pass interference penalty on Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot put the ball on the one-yard line, Manning play faked a run and rolled right. Linebacker Marcus Washington attempted to cutoff his angle to the end zone, but instead cut back to his left and dove into the end zone for the first Giants touchdown of the season.

On defense, Justin Tuck (Strahan’s replacement at defensive end) electrified the crowd with a sack of quarterback Jason Campbell on the Redskins first offensive play.

Tuck was triple teamed on the play, but somehow was able to elude blockers as Campbell was rolling slightly to his right and brought him down for a seven-yard loss.

Numerous times on third down, Washington was denied of a first down by great individual plays by the secondary.

Rookie receiver Devin Thomas appeared to have one first down, but another rookie, the Giants Kenny Phillips, one yard short of the first down, stoned him.

Santana Moss also looked to be near a first down before Corey Webster clocked him, dislodging his helmet, once again one-yard short of the stick.

Mathias Kiwanuka, returning to the defensive line, made another key stop on a third-and-one, stuffing running back Clinton Portis for no gain.

The final score of the game did not do justice to what went on out on the field.

Campbell had very little time to throw, and when he chose to, receivers were not open.

To illustrate, in the first half, Campbell completed two of six passes for 17 yards. Twelve of those came on a touchdown pass to Santana Moss on a blown coverage.

As a whole, the Redskins did little to nothing against the Giants defense. Prior to last minute of the game, Washington had only moved the ball into New York territory twice. For the game, they finished with 11 first downs and 209 total yards.

If the defense can play like this, they can become a dominant force in the NFC and perhaps make a return trip to the Super Bowl.

For one night, it was a good start.

Giants Talk: Watching the Giants will not be the same anymore

After days, weeks and months had passed and all of the celebratory hugs and praise had concluded I slowly begin to ponder a very odd thought:

Where do we go as Giants fans from here?

The last 17 years was filled with disappointment, heartbreak and other agita induced moments, it was very natural to hope for the best, yet expecting the worst.

Even last year and throughout the playoffs, the feelings of the past were still very close, never drifting to far away from consciousness.

Then the Giants became Super Bowl Champions, extinguishing all past history in such improbable, historic fashion. A team that was expected to do nothing was now holders of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

As I look forward to the start of the 2008 season tomorrow night against the Redskins, I have wondering internally how I am going to approach the games.

Never again can I complain about past failures. The “woe is me” attitude is gone forever. Complaining and expecting the worst is no longer acceptable fan behavior, at least not for a minimum of the next three years at least.

Will I get upset when they lose? Sure. However, it will not be with the same intensity as before.

The phrase “heartbreaking defeat” will not have the same meaning anymore (at least not in the regular season) – not after what we all went through in the playoffs.

How will I criticize Eli Manning? Here was a guy who I thought was regressing to the point where I questioned whether he would ever be the quarterback that lived up to his promise. I can remember wondering during times last season if the Giants can find a way to acquire Derek Anderson in the offseason.

Then, Manning transformed from bumbling to brilliant. Perhaps he figured something out about himself along the way.

Leading the drive before halftime in Dallas. Playing tremendous in -25 weather in Green Bay. Then leading the game winning drive to win the Super Bowl and named the MVP.

What more can you ask for?

He has already reached the pinnacle of his profession and if he never won another ring, which would be just fine. Teflon would be the word I can attribute to him.

When he makes a bad throw for an interception, will I get angry?

Probably not. I trust him so much now that if something goes wrong, he likely knows why it happened. The fabric of the team is so much enriched with him now.

The defense that I criticized and put down for so long because they would never come up with a huge play or stop when needed, now I can put my faith in and be assured when it is time to win the game and close the show, they will do so.

No longer can I use the term “Same Old Giants”. From this day forward, that terminology has to be thrown in the garbage.

Much like how the Boston Red Sox eliminated all of their years of doubt, cynicism and pessimism after 86 years, you look at them as winners and believing that they will persevere no matter the circumstance.

When they lose, it will not be because of “jinxes”, “curses” or any of that nonsense. It will be strictly because they were not good enough on that day to execute and succeed.

Do I expect them to go back to the Super Bowl this year?

No, I do not.

Do I expect them to be in the NFC Championship Game?

I would like to think so.

Will I be upset if they miss the playoffs?

Probably. However, if that were to happen, it would be surprised or upset.

There is always talk of a “Super Bowl Hangover” that permeates teams the next season after winning.

I admit that I am going through that myself. Admittedly, I have yet to fully put last year behind me.

It may take seeing the raising of the banner that reads “2007 Super Bowl Champions – New York Giants” for it to finally close the book on last year.

Maybe I need a month of this season for it to settle in.

Or maybe I just need this entire season to get it all out and just not care about the results.

Thursday, when they kick the ball off, I will know my true feelings.

I was three years old when the Giants won their first Super Bowl.

I was seven when the Giants beat the Buffalo Bills to win their second. Since I was so young, I did not have a full grasp of understanding.

Now, I have a championship that I have been able to see and fully take hold. I was there for all of the bad times (see: 2002 in San Francisco). The bad play, the losing streaks and wondering if it would ever end.

It was made these games fun in a way. It was what made winning the championship last year so special to so many people, including me.

Now, the loser label is gone and we have a winner in front of us. How will we react?

I guess we will find out starting Thursday night.

A Few Changes

With the football season upcoming and the Giants beginning defense of their Super Bowl title on Thursday night, I will be making a few changes to the blog for football season.

This coincides with the baseball season winding down and the Yankees season that has found its way to the toilet.

Here is the new format:

Each week, I will have three features. I will provide a game recap of every Giants game this season. In addition, during the week I will have one Giants feature story and also an "NFL Talk" section.

I will have an MLB Talk column twice a month leading up to the playoffs.

As for the Yankees, I will continue to have a Yankee Talk section each week.

Hope you enjoy.